Surviving Family Holiday Chaos - The Truth About The Most Stressful Season 😵‍💫 Trope Explained

[theemii]

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Being around family can be a lot of fun, but… it can also be very chaotic. And what time of year does that chaos really start to heat up? The holiday season, of course! It's a feature of so many hilarious episodes of our favorite shows, from Friends to Modern Family to Blackish to Brooklyn Nine-Nine and beyond (and some very stressful ones, like

Comments

[lamppost1911]

I am seated to read about peoples’ family dysfunctions and venting.

[procedurals]

I will never forget my aunt oversharing about her prolapsed uterus one Thanksgiving. 🙉 Memorable but not the most egregious faux pas. She & her husband (rest in piss) ruined pretty much every Thanksgiving for my mother, who always hosted, and by extension for me.

[lamppost1911]

Omg future me is your aunt 😂😂😂 I could totally see myself telling a story like that because why not!?

But I also would never ruin someone’s holiday. I’d just hope it was a fun story 😂 hope your mom (and you) had and have some decent Thanksgivings. I know how stressful hosting can be!

Sorry about your uncle 😔

[procedurals]

Well as you can tell from my comment I am bitter (lol) - but your comment gave me a different perspective. I am on track to be the crazy aunt and great-aunt in my family, so what the hell - maybe I'll say some inappropriate shit at holiday dinners down the line for my own amusement. 😈

My aunt & uncle's major holiday crimes were always arriving an hour plus late & never showing appreciation for my mom or chipping in for the meals. Mom & I both prefer solo Thanksgivings for now (we live in different states) but one day I'll get over my resentments ⏳ (mom will not bc that's how she is)

[my_moloko]

[anus]

It really depends on your family. My immediate family is all nearby so we never traveled for Thanksgiving. We did travel to my aunt/cousins for Christmas every year when I was younger, but that stopped by the time I was a teen.

Personally I've always preferred Thanksgiving and could care less about Christmas, but that's because I'm more interested in food than gifts. My family doesn't do anything interesting food wise for Christmas. Plus making Thanksgiving food just for yourself is way too much of a hassle. It's better to go somewhere with a bigger group so the effort can be shared (and you end up with more food options!!).

[lamppost1911]

Agreed with @my_moloko. It just depends.

For me - Thanksgiving has always been just a celebration of people getting together and eating food. Christmas is a bit more personal and nuanced for me so it’s more difficult for me to get through.

[anterrabre]

It really depends on the age of the people involved and the family dynamic; if everyone is an adult and have their own thing going on people tend to split the holidays (ie: being with wife's family for Thanksgiving and hubby's for Christmas) or take turns hosting. Some people say screw all of that and celebrate only with immediate family, and a lot of young people do Friendsgiving with friends and see their immediate family for Christmas.

[metatarsus]

I'm honestly glad I have a very small family around this time of year. I can't imagine the stress of travelling and buying so many gifts or especially hosting everyone... it would be a nightmare. I'm sure some people love big families but it's not something I'm used to at all and I think it would drive me nuts. Christmas to me is sitting quietly and eating food and drinking wine, maybe taking a nap lol.

[ellie_andrews]

having a small dinner with my husband and kids (and my stepkid's mom lol) gonna have the parade on in the background while i sip wine and "help" my husband cook. gonna be chill af!!

[janna479]

We're having lunch at my Aunts house. I'm only making potato salad this year so no too stressful. There will be around 20 people but not all at the same time. I always make it a point to stay as short of a time as possible. The key is good parking. Park on the street, and don't let yourself get blocked in the driveway where you have to wait for someone to move a car to let you out.

[lamppost1911]

Please share this potato salad recipe that leaves you unstressed!

[alwayspolaris]

Not the OP but for ours I do thick cut red potatoes and leave the skin on (cuts down prep time and looks better), boil them in salted water until just fork soft, add only enough mayo to coat them lightly and then it's a little mustard, grated or chopped hardboiled egg (toss in with the potatoes to cook even), diced celery and onion, salt, pepper, and *plenty* of tony's cajun seasoning. Other than the boiling it takes like 10-15 minutes, and the result is visually pleasing and not tasteless lumps swimming in mayo, and it tastes like the potato version of a good deviled egg.

[lamppost1911]

I haaaate lumps and cannot understand people who like them. Love that you leave the skins on. I prefer that but get why people don’t. I don’t think I’ve heard of Tony’s but keep meaning to try Slap Yo Mama’s. Not sure if they’re similar.

I love a good deviled egg.